In one of my recent lessons, my student and I came to talk about the various pieces of advice we would give to someone who had just started learning French, or any other foreign language, for that matter. I have to say that this conversation (conducted entirely in French!) gave me some very interesting and fresh insights into the complex world of language learning.

My student said that the best advice that she was ever given, and that I had reinforced during our lessons, was the importance of building a good vocabulary base. She also said that she had been inspired to learn word families through my approach to vocabulary, because it worked for her.

And here is the important thing: I have read so many blogs, articles and advice columns about vocabulary building, telling you whether it is important or futile, and more often than not telling you how to do it. But let’s face it: we all learn differently, so my best advice is learn vocabulary, as it is important, but do it in a way that works for you. Sticky notes all over the house to label things, colour coordinated for genders or word types, lists, pelmanism, it’s all good.

The same thing applies to the learning of grammar. You will hear and read all sorts of advice, and most of them are useful (apart from, to my mind, the ones telling you not to bother learning any…). But really, the way you choose to approach this thorny subject must be a very personal one. If I may throw in my views on the subject, I will say this: do not underestimate the importance of learning grammar, but try to learn it in context.

This, to me, means that whatever your prefered learning style, whether you read, listen or chat away, there will always be a perfect example of a specific rule that will enlighten you and make you understand how to build longer, more complex sentences. Of course, you will always find people like me, who actually enjoy reading a grammar book as you read a novel, but then again, I’m quite special!

So, dear friends and readers, tell me all: how do you lear your vocabulary? And is learning grammar important to you? I would love to hear from you all, so please leave all my readers (and me!) your favourite tips in a comment.